Lubricating station



April 16, 1935. w. J, MADDEN 1,997,645

LUBRICATING STATION Filed 001:. 30, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 'FIG- I.

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LUBRICATING STATION Filed Oct. 30, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG; I.

WITNESSES. I N V EN TOR.

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' LUBRIGATING- STATION Filed Oct. 30, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. WITNESSES April 16, 1935. w, MADDEN 1,997,645

LUBRICATING STATION Filed Oct. 30, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FJG ZIZ fl. 71/

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f atenteci Apr. 16 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

LUBRICATING STATION William J. Madden, Lansdowne, Pa. Application October 30, 1930, Serial No. 492,136

5 Claims. (01. 237-1) This invention relates to lubricating stations useful more particularlyin train yards.

My invention is directed toward applying fluent lubricant to the journal boxes of railroad cars. It is conveniently applicable to cars in railroad. yards'as they pass a point somewhat in advance of the yard hump from which they are released to roll by gravity to'classification tracks.

In connection with a lubricating station suit.- able for such purposes, I provide facilities for storageoi viscous lubricant under pressure; manually controlled facilities at opposite sides of the track for dispensing the lubricant, i. e. for injecting it into the journalboxes of the passing cars; and means whereby the lubricant is heatedfor greater fluidity immediately before discharge through indirect contact with a circulating heating medium, and so with avoidance of carbonization or other detrimental effects.-

In the drawings, Fig. I is a plan view showing a portion of the track of a railroad yard and the allocation, .withreference thereto, of the various parts constituting m improved lubricating station.

Fig. II is a longitudinal section taken as indicated by the arrows II+II in Fig. I.

Fig.III is a staggered cross section taken as indicated by the arrows IIIIII in Fig. I.

Fig. IV is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the enclosures provided above ground for housing the dispensing and heating facilities.

Fig. V is a. vertical sectional view of the enclosure, taken as indicated by the arrows V--V in Fig. IV; and

Fig. VI is a cross sectional view of the enclosure, taken as indicated by the arrows VI-VI in Fig. V. a In a useful and convenient embodiment of my invention, I place at a point alongside the track It] and conveniently about two hundred feet in advance of a yard hump, a storage reservoir I l for viscous lubricant which is to be used in oiling the journal boxes of the cars as the latter pass slowly over the track. This reservoir is preferablyunder ground, the depth to which it is buriedbeing such as to insure immunity of the oil against climatic extremes. The reservoir l l is filled through a downward pipe 12 fitted at the ground level with a removable cap I3, and also with a hand valve 14. One end of the reservoir II is exposed in a manhole or pit l5 which is protected by a removable cover [6 and provided at the bottom with a water drain [1. The oil in the reservoir H is subject to a head pressure maintained by virtue of a pipe connection l8 with a suitable source ofv compressed air (not shown) pipe 23 is fitted with a key valve 36.

but ordinarily available in train yards. Interposed in the horizontal portion of the pipe l8 within the pit I5 is a pressure gage l9 and a hand valve 20, as well as a reducing valve 2| whereby the available pressure, say about 100 pounds,

decreased to about15 pounds at the reservoir, the latter pressure having been found in practice to satisfactorily serve the purposes of my invention. A delivery pipe 22 leads horizontally from the bottom of the'reservoi'r ll through the pit l5 and continues under ground from thence to branches 23, 23 which extend respectively to housings24, 24 permanently erected above ground at opposite. sides of the track l0. Within the pit IS the delivery pipe 22 is fitted with a hand control valve 25; and ahead of the said valve there is a connection to a trap 26 that serves tocollect water carried with the compressed air into the reservoir The housings 24 are alike, both as regards their construction and appurtenances. As shown in Figs. II and III, the pipe branch 23 rises vertically from the ground in each instance, and enters the housing 24 at the front at an elevation above the ground level, the exposed portions of said pipe branch being protected by a heavy covering or sheathing 28 of thermo-insulation. From Fig. V it will be noted that the lubricant is con-- ducted into the bottom of a vertical auxiliary reservoir 29 within the housing 24. For the purpose of-regulating the flow of the lubricant, the From a head 3| at the top-of the auxiliary reservoir 29, the oil is conducted, through a-short downward pipe 32, to a flexible hose 33 which terminates in a manually controllable nozzle 34. When not in use, the hose 33 is hung from a hook or peg 35 within an isolated compartment 36 provided for its accommodation in the tower 24. As shown in Fig. II, access is had to the compartment 36 through a door 31 at the track side of the tower. The drippings from the nozzle 34 are caught'by a funnel 39 in the lower part of the compartment 36, and carried 01f through a duct 38 for discharge exteriorly of the bottom of the housing, thereby minimizing the fire hazard.

The means employed to maintain the lubricant uniformly fluent under all weather conditions include a closed coil 40 whereof one of the vertical pipe sections 4!, 42 extends axially through the auxiliary reservoir 29. As shown in Fig. V, the 1 pipe 45. Through the aid of a sight gage 46, the coil and the communicating expansion tank 44 are kept filled with a liquid heat conducting medium to the level indicated at M in Fig. VI. In the present instance, the liquid medium M is heated by an electric heating element of the bayonet type conventionally indicated at 4'! in Fig. V and shown as occupying the bottom cross connection 45 of the coil 40. Due to the inclination of the connection 45, the heat conducting liquid is caused to circulate in the direction of the arrows in Fig. V, i. e., upward in the vertical section 42 of the coil 40, and downward in the section 4|, the rate of circulation being regulatable by means of hand valves 48, 49 near the bottom ends of the aforesaid coil sections. The liquid heat conducting medium thus flows counter to the oil, which, in passing upward in the auxiliary reservoir 29, is confined to a spiral course by a helical fin 50 surrounding the section ll of the coil. The described arrangement obviously predetermines rapid and eflective thermal interchange as between the heating medium and the oil whereby the fluency of the latter is increased immediately previous to discharge through the nozzle 34 of the hose 33, under the action of the compressed air head within the main storage reservoir H. Vapor pressure gen erated in the coil 40 is relieved through a vent pipe 5| that terminates exteriorly of the top of the tower. For protection against influence of extraneous temperature conditions, the auxiliary reservoir 29 and the coil 40, as well as the parts associated with them are embedded in insulation 52, such as plastic magnesium or the like, which completely fills the tower 24 except for the hose compartment 36 and a small corner compartment 53 accommodating the electric connections to the. bayonet heater 41.

The supply of electric-current to the bayonet heater 4! is governed by means including a thermostat 55 which is exposed to the lubricant in the head 3| of the auxiliary reservoir 38. The thermostat 55 is in circuit, through a conductor indicated in dot-and-dash lines at 56 in Fig. V, with a suitable electric temperature regulator 51 which is protected, together with a coordinated automatic control panel 58, within a lean-to i! of the housing. This lean-to 59 also provides compartments i0 and BI for sand and water buckets 62, 63. Conductors from the panel 58 to the bayonet heater 41, and from the panel to an electric light at the front of the tower, are protected from the weather within conduits indicated at 66 and 61 respectively. The conductors from the power lines (not shown) of the train yard serving the two housings 24 are likewise protected within a conduit 68, see Fig. I.

As a heat conducting medium, I prefer to employ a solution of calcium chloride or the like which has a higher boiling point and a lower freezing point than water. Such a solution is flexible in that the boiling point may be changed by increasing or decreasing its density or strength. Through provisions made in the coil 40 for venting, the boiling point of the heating medium, predeterminable as just explained, obviously becomes the maximum temperature to which the oil can be raised. Under these circumstances safety in operation is assured, since the oil cannot possibly be brought to the point of ignition, and moreover since the calcium chloride solution is in itself non-inflammable. The use of an intermediary liquid heating medium is furthermore advantageous in that it insures against carbonization 0 the oil as frequently occurs in instances where the oil is directly subjected to a heating device.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a lubricant heating and dispensing station, an oil supply line, a circulatory system separate from said oil line and in indirect contact therewith, a heating medium in said system comprising a liquid having a boiling point below the flash point of oil and means for heating said liquid, said circulatory system having a relatively large heating surface whereby carbonization of the oil is prevented.

2. In a lubricant heating and dispensing station, an oil supply line, a heat interchanger, having a circulatory system in indirect contact with said oil line, said heat interchanger being characterized by a heating medium in said circulatory system having a boiling point below the flash point of the oil and a vent in the upper part of said circulating system whereby vapor may escape.

3. In a lubricant heating and dispensing station, an oil supply line leading to the point where the oil is to be dispensed as a lubricant, a circulatory system separate from said oil line and in indirect contact therewith for part or its length, a heating medium circulating in said system and adapted to heat the oil immediately prior to its discharge, said heating medium comprising a liquid having a boiling point which is relatively high but below the flash point of the oil to be heated, and an open vent in said circulatory system for the escape of said medium when volatilized, whereby the oil is prevented from being heated to its flash point through control of the volatilization point of said heating medium.

4. In a lubricant heating and dispensing station, an oil supply line leading to the point where the oil is to be dispensed as a lubricant, a circulatory system separate from said oil line and in indirect contact therewith i'or part 01 its length, a heating medium circulating in said system and adapted to heat the 011 immediately prior to its discharge, said medium comprising a liquid having a. boiling point which is relatively high but below the flash point of the oil to be heated and having a freezing point below the temperature at which said oil becomes too viscous to flow through said supply line, and an open vent in said circulatory system for the escape of the heating medium when volatilized, whereby the oil is prevented from being heated to its flash point through the control of the volatilization point 0! the heating medium, and said heating medium will not freeze at temperatures where the oil is viscous.

5. In a lubricant heating and dispensing station, an oil supply line leading to the point where the oil is to be dispensed as a lubricant, a circulatory system separate from said oil line and in indirect contact therewith for part of its length, a heating medium circulating in said system and adapted to heat the oil immediately prior to its discharge, comprising a solution of calcium chloride, an open vent in said system for the escape of the heating medium when the same is volatilized, electric means disposed within said circulatory system for heating the solution therein, and a thermostatic control for said electric heating means, the'density or said solution of calcium chloride being such that its volatilization point is relatively high but below the flash point of the oil.

WILLIAM J. MADDEN. 

